De genealogia deorum gentilium

work by Boccaccio

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June 25, 2026

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De genealogia deorum gentilium is an encyclopedic work by Giovanni Boccaccio, written in Latin. It was likely begun around 1350 and continuously revised until his death in 1375. The work explores the genealogies of the gods of pagan antiquity, drawing heavily on classical sources.12

While medieval in structure, its spirit is humanist, reflecting Boccaccio's engagement with classical learning and his role in laying the foundations for Renaissance humanism. The text aims to reconcile classical mythology with Christian thought, though its primary focus is on presenting the mythological traditions of the ancient world. It is considered a significant scholarly work that contributed to the revival of classical studies during the Renaissance.1

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Giovanni Boccaccio
Petrarch and Boccaccio’s mature years
His encyclopedic De genealogia deorum gentilium (“On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles”), medieval in structure but humanist in spirit, was probably begun in the very year of his meeting with Petrarch but was continuously corrected and revised until his death. His Bucolicum carmen (1351–66),…
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His encyclopedic De genealogia deorum gentilium (“On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles”), medieval in structure but humanist in spirit, was probably begun in the very year of his meeting with Petrarch but was continuously corrected and revised until his death. His Bucolicum carmen (1351–66),…
Read More

humanism
Giovanni Boccaccio
His De genealogia deorum gentilium (“On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles,” written c. 1350–75), a scholarly interpretive compendium of Classical myth, was the first in a long line of Renaissance mythographies. It includes a celebrated defense of poetry as a medium of hidden…
Read More
His De genealogia deorum gentilium (“On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles,” written c. 1350–75), a scholarly interpretive compendium of Classical myth, was the first in a long line of Renaissance mythographies. It includes a celebrated defense of poetry as a medium of hidden…
Read More